Locomotive refilling method



F. W. MILLER LOCOMOTIV'E REFILLING METHOD Filed Jan. 17, 1929 Aug. 9, 1932.

Patented Aug. 9, 1932 Unir FRANK W. MILLER, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS LOCOMOTIVE REFILLING- METHOD Application inea January 17, 1929. serial No. 333,232.

This invention relates to locomotives refilling methods for use at locomotive terminals and is'concerned particularly with methods for refilling locomotives with hot water and steam simultaneously so that when a loccmotive boiler is filled to its normal water level there will be in it sufficient or nearly sucient pressure to roll it out of the round house under its own power without first having any l@ fire started in the fire box.

l/Vhile in the past some eifort has been made to relill locomotives by injecting warm water into the boilers under the injecting force of live steam supplied by the power house boiler 15 yet these efforts have generally met with commercial failure due to the fact that they made excessive demands upon the steam produced by the power house boiler and especially so when more than one locomotive was being re- 2e filled in that manner at one time. These sudden drops in steam pressure would naturally raise havoc with steam driven equipment at the terminal and this interference has been found to be so great as to discourage the use 2a of such equipment. A remedy which might be supplied overcoming these defects is to increase the power house boiler capacity; but

naturally the installation of increased boiler i capacity would involve an enormous outlay of money and in some cases might be prohi ited even by lack of space. This invention makes possible the quick refilling of locomotivesand production ofworling pressures in them, yet prevents disastrous reduction in steam pressure in the powerhouse system.'

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a refilling method for locomotive terminalswhich utilizes steam for direct admiX- high pressure into which is mixed steam at approximately the'same pressure.

Another object of this invention is to produce superheated water for use in boiler re- 50; filling by adding live steam tewater which is nearly at the boiling temperature to thereby reduce to a minimum any hammering which V the admixture of steam might tend to cause.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide storage of alarge quantity of refilling water maintained at atmospheric pressure slightly below boiling with vibration of the apparatus and noise eliminated yet heating the water with high pressure steam.

inotherobject of thisinvention is to provide method for relling a locomotive boiler Ywith superheated water and for simultaneously Vas well as subsequently injecting live steam into the boiler for the purpose of creat. ing and maintaining boiler operating pressures therein.

Other objects7 advantages and capabilities are inherently possessed by this invention and will later become apparent.

Referring now to the drawing which illustrates diagrammatically apparatus for carrying out this invention there is shown a blowoh' main l to which is connected a drop 2 at a. locomotive stall and a iiexible hose 3 con nected to the blow-o drop and locomotive boiler for enabling the boiler to be blown olf into this main. The mingled steam and water discharged from the locomotive through its respective blow-of drop kpasses through the blow-QE main to a separator 4. ln the separator, which is perferably of the centrifugal type, the water is separated from the steam and is conducted to a wash-out tank 5. This water from the wash-out tank may then be forced by the pump 6 into a wash-out main 7 thence conducted to any boiler which is to be washed out. Apparatus for regulating the temperature of the wash-out water is not a part of this invention and need not therefore be shown. The steam rising from the separator is conducted through the pipe toa condenser 9 where it mingles with waterv admitted to the Vcondenser through the pipe y 1l. This water is pumped from the refill tank by the pump l2 through the pipe 13. A In practice this kcondenser will be located at a higher level than the relltank sok that theV heated water may flow by gravity throughV the pipela into the refill tank 15. The water level in the refill tank may be maintained byr adding cold water through the Water level regulated valve 16.

The water from the refill tank is pumped by means of the pump 17 through the pipe 18 into a mixing box 19. The pump 17 will be controlled by means of a pressure governor 21. The pressure in the discharge pipe 18 will operate the pressure governor, the effort being made to discharge Water from thevpump at a constant pressure of aboutlOO pounds.

When the Water is being'pumped from the mixing box 19 into the refill main'22 steam also at about 10() pounds pressure is inspirated by the water and mixes with'the Water yin the mixing box. Thepressure of the steam as admitted through the pipe 23 will be regu lated by a pressure regulator 24 which should be* set'to'deli'ver steam at 100 pounds pressure. This regulator willy preventan undue reduc,- tienI of steam pressure in the main-'live steam line which serves the round house. A check va1ve'25 is placed in the line23 toy prevent' anyr possibility of water fiowingy through the steam line 23 toward the pressure regulator 24 VThe steam pressure will be preferably slightly below thefwater pressure; Y

,At theend or perhaps the intermediate points in the refill main a return line 26 is connected which conducts a small amount of water continuously from they refill main back less live steam through the pipe 32 into the condenser' 28 to thereby raise the temperature of the somewhat cooled return water to the temperature at which it is desired to maintain the refill Water. Ordinarily this refill water shouldhave a temperature of about Since therefill4 water' will have a temper'a ture' of'sli-ghtly over 200 F. there should be very little hammering inf the mixing box 19 ywhen the live steam at 100 pounds pressure At the same time, however, the action of the flowing water ony this steam will have the effect of inspirating mixes with the water.

steam in-proportion to the quantity'of water which is fiowing through the mixing box. Accordingly the quantity of water being used .for refilling any number of locomotives will determine the amount of steam being used to maintain its temperature. The refill main being maintained at the desired high tem'- p'erature by the continuousoperation of the pump -21 and ,the Withdrawal of water through the return line 26.

Before injecting a charge of superheated v`refill water into .an empty locomotive one should of course condition the boiler plates' by first introducing a sufficient amount of steam to gradually and uniformly heat the boiler plates, to thus prevent unequal expansion of the plates. This steam may be obtained either from the live steam drop or by injecting a small quantity of superheated water and permitting it to expand ii the boiler into steam.

Y After the. boiler plates are sufficiently heated.,- the boiler is then refilled by permittingv Water from the refill main to flow through the associated refill drop and refilly ing hose into the boiler, the water being under the pressure created by the pump 17. This Water drawn from the refill main will ordinarily have a temperature ranging from about 250 F. upwardly. 'The water flowing from the refill main is replaced continuously by the water beingl pumped from the refill tank through thefm-ixingbox l9fwliere steam at about 100 pounds pressure is addedk thereto, thereby raisingy the temperature of the' waterf By the time the locomotive boil- I er has been refilled to its normal'water level all of the water contained therein Willhave a temperature ofy about 25()O F. or more and but little more steam needs to be added th'ereto toy produce a working pressure sufficient, to enablethe locomotivev to be selffpropelledf Without theuse of any fire in the fire box.

yWhen any locomotive has been refilled tothe properjlevelr with this superheatedr'efill water, having tempera-tures which will probably be approximately 250 F., the connec-l tion shownin the drawing may then be made, that is, the flexible hose will'be connectedy .simultaneously to the live steam line 33 and 5 the blow-off main 1. VVithfthis connection livesteam mayy be injected until aI working pressure'of perhaps 100 pounds is created in the'boiler and thisv pressure then may be maintained by continuingthe` live steam connection. Should the'water level, due tothe condensation of steam, exceed thev desired level the steam valve 34 may be shut offv and the blow-off valve` 35 opened' ypermitting the pressure in the boiler to discharge the excess water into the blow-off main un'til'the proper level is once more attained; The blow-olf valveA may then be closed and steam turned on again for holding the pressure. It is lli apparent, therefore, that the yboiler may be y refilled quicklyk and safely byy means of this" invention and put into condition ready' for service without buildingany lire on the esof the locomotivel while it is still in` the round f house. yNo smoke is therefore. createdy and the minimum'amount oftime'is required for refilling the locomotive'.

In some ofthe prior refilling systems the maintaining of water temperatures and. the

refilling of the boilers Was| accompanied" byu terrific hammering and vibration'resultin'g in.

' seriousmechanical wear'a'sd creating consta-nt uproar 1n and aboutthe locomotivetermmals: z

This system provides for mixing of steam and water for the refill tank without noise or vibration; the superheating of water for the boilers is likewise accomplished quietly; and when steam is injected directly into the locomotives they have an internal temperature and pressure which makes hammering practically negligible.

The capacity of the refill tank will vary with different installations. @ne or more refill tanks may be used to suit conditions, but in any case the amount of refill water stored at slightly below boiling temperature should equal the total capacity of the maximum number of locomotive boilers that the system will be called upon to refill within a. short period of time, so thatall the boilers may be refilled efficiently and quickly.

By maintaining the water in the refill tank as close as possible to boiling most of the sludge due to the presence of water softening materials in the water will be precipitated in the refill tanlr ather than in the boilers. At intervals this sludge is then removed through the sludge outlet 3S shown in the drawing. Hence boilers refilled by means of this method and apparatus will not need to be blown off, washed out and refilled as Jfrequently as has been heretofore necessary.

W'hile it is preferable to retain the water in the refilling distributing system under a pressure of approximately 100 pounds, yet a lower pressure may be user-, even as low as pounds for example. In any case the steam to be mixed with the water will be regulated to have about the same or a slightly lower pressure. rlhe water pressure of pounds is to be preferred as it enables the refill water to be stored and pumped into the boilers at a higher temperature and yet the temperature diderence between the steam and water entering the mixing box is not so great as to cause hammering when the mixture is made as provided by this invention. Of course the steam supplied at each locomotive stall may have any pressure in excess of the internal locomotive boiler pressure and may be added simultaneously with the superheated water or subsequently.

It should be understood that the above description illustrates but one embodimentof the invention which has been selected for illustrative purposes and that the scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims, includes other embodiments and modifications.

Having shown and described this invention, I claim:

l. 'A method of refilling locomotive boilers comprising heat-ing a. supply of refill water to slightly less than 212 F. and storing a quantity of it sufficient for the simultaneous refilling of a. plurality of locomotive boilers, pumping the heated water as needed into a distributing system under at least 75 pounds pressure, entraining upon the waterasit;

and water .under pressure into a boiler to bev refilled.

2. A method of refilling locomotive boilers comprising heating a supply of refill water to slightly below 212C F. and storing it ina quantity suflicient for any sudden maximum demand, pumping the heated water as needed through a refilling distributing system, entraining upon the water as it enters said system a. supply of steam, regulating the pressure of the steam and water separately before entrainment with the water having the higher pressure, conducting the superheated mixture into a locomotive boiler to be refilled, and supplying additional high pressure steam to the water in the boiler until a self-propelling pressure is created in the boiler.

3. A method of refilling locomotive boilers comprising heating a supply of refill water to slightly below 212O F. and maintaining a large body of it under atmospheric pressure, pumping water as needed from said body to a locomotive to be refilled, entraining into said water on the delivery side of the pump a supply of steam proportioned to the flow of water and at a pressure less than the water pressure, and supplying additional high pressure steam to the boiler until' a self-propelling pressure is created therein.

4. A method of refilling locomotive boilers comprising heating a supply of refill wa.- ter to slightly below 212o F. by admixture with steam blown od from locomotives, accomplishing said admixture in a condenser apart from the body of refill water thereby eliminating hammering, pumping water from the refill supply at a pressure of approximately l0() pounds to a locomotive to be refilled, entraining upon the water on the delivery side of the ypump a quantity of steam, regulating the supply of steam for entrainment at a pressure below the pressure of the water, and supplying additional high pressure steam to the boiler until a. selfpropelling pressure is created therein.

5. A method of refilling locomotive boilers comprising heating a supply of refill water to slightly below 212 F. by admixture with steam blown oli" from locomotives, accomplishing said admixture in a condenser apart from the body of yrefill water therebyy eliminating hammering, pumping water from the refill supply into a refilling distributing main under pressure of approximately 100 pounds, entraining into the water thus flowing into the main a supply of high pressure steam, regulating the supply of steam thus entrained at a pressure below the water pressure, conducting the water thus superheated into a locomotive to be roo refilled, and supplyingy additional high ,pres-y sure steam to the boiler until a self-propel'- lingi pressure is created therein.

l 6. Vmethod of refilling locomotive boill ers comprising heating a suppl of refill Wa- Y' ter to Vslightly below 212 F. y admixture with steam blown oft from locomotives, accomplishing said admixture in a condenser apart from the body of refill Water thereby eliminating hammering, `pumping Water from the refill supply into a refilling distributing kmain under-.pressure of at least 75 pounds, entraining into the Water thus flowing into the main a supply of high pressure 57 steam, regulating the supply of steam to be thus entrained at a pressure below the Water pressure,.conducting the Water thus superheated into a locomotive to be refilled, and supplyingadditional high pressure steam to o? the boiler untila self-propelling pressure is created therein. 1

7. A method of refilling locomotive boilers comprising heating a supply of refill Wal ter to slightly below 212 F. by admixture with blown-off steam from locomotives, accomplishing said admixturein a condenser apart from the body of reiill Water thereby eliminating hammering, pumping Water from the refill supply into a refilling disaid tributing main under pressure of at least 7'5 pounds, entraininginto the Water thus flowing into'the main a supply of steam at a f ressure below the Waterl pressure, conductlng the Water thus superheated into a locomo` tive to be refilled, and supplying additional high pressure steam to the boiler until a self-propelling pressure is created therein.

V8. A method otrefilling locomotive boilers comprising heating a supply of refill Wa- '4`0 ter to slightly below7 212 F. by admixture with blownoff steam from locomotives and high pressure steam from the round house steam supply, accomplishing both admixtures in condensers apart from the bodyr of relill Water thereby eliminating hammering, pumping Water from the reiill supply into a. refilling` distributing main under pressure of at least 75 pounds, entraining into the Water thus ioWing into the main a supply 515i of steam at a pressure below the Water pressure, conducting the Water thus su erheated into alocomotive'boiler to be re lled, and supplying additional high pressure steam to the boiler until a self-propelling pressure is 55'! created therein.

In Witness of the foregoing I' aiiv my signature.

FRANK W. MILLER.

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